Ronald Thwaites | Why civility matters

Asked what he felt was the major fault line of American culture at this time, retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy named the absence of civility – defined as the practised respect – first for self (very different from self-obsession) and for others, which allows for accommodation of contrary views and a commitment to respect those holding them. Civility is the reverse of the arrogance, disrespect and cruelty of those who exercise power.

VITAL CIVIC VIRTUE

Civil behaviour is vital to democracy. Without its constant application, public discourse becomes a gladiatorial affair. That seems to be the chronic state of the Jamaican parliament. It is a deep structural problem which can’t be solved by face-lifting the members lounge in the bunker of Gordon House.

Listen to the stupidity occurring almost every week with haggling over outdated standing orders between an over-bearing presider, an assertive Opposition and a spoiler on the government benches. Their burlesque suppresses Jamaica’s real plot which is the misery and depression of ordinary folk.

REALITY SHOW

The ‘Gordon House Reality Show’ is the rank opposite of the deep civic and spiritual virtue of civility. Taxi drivers, impressionable young people and the whole tone of our culture, are influenced by their example. “Big up myself. A who yu a talk? A me rule”

Let’s be clear. A high level of political comity, born of deep respect and civility, is essential for building back better. Conditions in the distressed communities do not match the optimistic picture trotted out at staged and repetitive press occasions. A political economy based on competition to control and dispense scarcity, where bureaucracy plays the politicians, is the recipe for a failed state.

CLARITY ABOUT ELECTRICITY

Take, for example, the unresolved issue of the cost of restoring electric power and crafting an economical grid based on renewable energy. The parliamentary committee on economy and infrastructure ought to be sitting weekly, requiring answers from the tongue-tied JPSCo while assessing relevant science and investment prospects in solar and wind power. Such an exercise would inspire, in the owners of capital and consumers alike, confidence, trust and patience.

The first thing we would find out is who is really going to pay for light to come back and how, if at all, the nation can achieve cheaper power in the near future.

REPORTS IGNORED

Reports from such committees are supposed to go to Cabinet as a basis for policy determination. Instead, they are usually ignored. Committee process takes more work and brainpower than turning up for a stage show on Tuesday afternoon. But that way is how power is diffused and the suffocation of prime ministerial hegemony is avoided.

Instead, we get staged presentations read by ministers ( isn’t that contrary to the Standing Orders?), some hurried questions, mostly ridiculed or disallowed to save face, then the administration goes ahead and does what it feels to, anyway. Democracy?

THE CONSTITUTION

Or take the comatose subject of constitutional reform. This is closely connected to how we configure the post-Melissa society. Parallel and complementary to the essential interchange between Andrew and Mark, a parliamentary committee should be struck to consider the learning which Dr Barnett offers in this space and to stimulate and listen to the resilient voices of ordinary people. Have a meeting in Black River for a start.

OVERSIGHT

Every MP who is properly concerned about the recovery process in their constituency, given the government’s unwillingness to empower a comprehensive reconstruction oversight body, should insist that the powerful but underused Appropriations Committee assume those functions and oversee the entire process. Nobody can stop them.

Then, each elected representative would have an influential and informed input on behalf of their people. That committee has the authority to summon ministers, all other interests, and to command the attention of the press. Do that and your effort would start to match your reward and constituents would start to feel served.

GOOD MOVES

Two positive moves last week were the commitment to publishing the details of all public contracts awarded under emergency procurement protocols. The other was the prime minister’s offer to partner with private developers of luxury housing to invest in low-cost home construction. Will they really happen, though?

FORMING CONSCIENCES

Culturing civility requires the promotion of basic standards in all relationships. Forming consciences is the business of families, schools and churches. In the education reform experiment which I am a part of, the most challenged students are the children without caring families. Their disabilities are aggravated and their behaviour uncontrolled, because civility has never been the centrepiece of their upbringing.

Religious observance and education are in decline, eclipsed by bashment and beguiling social media. “Building back stronger” requires attention to these realities. Strong personal bonds allow for resilience. That’s why family life was discouraged in slave society. What’s our excuse now?

WEAK ROOTS AND BETTER CHOICES

Consider last week’s newspaper story of a now-homeless, unemployed mother of six, one of whom has been taken into state care, while others have unmet health and economic challenges. There was not a mention in the detailed story of the father(s) of the children. What good outcomes can be expected from such common situations?

We can do it very differently. On a visit to her home district in Woodhall years ago, Sister P showed me the paths she had trod every week as a child to Sunday school in one church and to worship in another. She introduced me to a wizened old man who she respectfully called “Maas U”, who had been one of the protective influences in her youth.

Those experiences made her who she became: one of the most sensitive, emotionally and instinctively wise women of our time. Her brand of civility made it a privilege to serve under her leadership. I pray a blessing for her on her birthday.

Rev Ronald G. Thwaites is an attorney-at-law. He is former member of parliament for Kingston Central and was the minister of education. He is the principal of St Michael’s College at The UWI. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com